New Tunisian parliament begins its first session

Tunisia’s new parliament sat for the first time on Monday but the opposition coalition said it would not recognize its legitimacy after an election with a turnout of just 11%.

President Kais Saied shut down the previous elected parliament in July 2021, ruling by decree in a move that opposition parties have called a coup.

Independent journalists were not allowed to attend the opening session of parliament for the first time since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution. Officials told reporters only state TV and radio and the state news agency were allowed to cover the event.

The new parliament, elected in polls in December and January, operates under a constitution that Saied wrote last year. It will have very little power compared with the body it replaces, Reuters reported.